Black-Body theory and the quantum discontinuity, 1894-1912.

Thomas Kuhn's book is a detailed, thorough, idiosyncratic and revisionist history of the origins of quantum theory. The study concentrates on the work of Max Planck, who is generally credited with introducing the concept of quantization into physics, beginning with his early work on thermodynamics and irreversibility. Kuhn correctly emphasizes the importance of Boltzmann's statistical approach to the development of Planck's work. This chapter on Boltzmann is, in fact, one of the finest illustrations of the 'autonomy of theoretical science' in which major theoretical advances are made in the absence of experimental data. Kuhn then discusses Planck's work on the law of black-body radiation in 1900 and 1901, which he interprets as a purely classical theory, a point which will be discussed in detail below. He then goes on to consider work which he does regard as introducing the quantum discontinuity into physics, notably that of Ehrenfest and Einstein, and the subsequent acceptance of this view. The book closes with a discussion of the further applications of the quantum to other areas of physics and Planck's 'second theory' of black'-body radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]